Fostering Network Security in a BYOD World

From the continuous escape from the 9-5 working schedules to the increase in technological advancements, it is almost impossible for businesses to ignore the need for BYOD policies. Slowly, employees are finding it easier to use personal devices to do work-related tasks instead of relying on company-provided devices. Not only is this convenient for them, but it also improves productivity as they know their personal devices better than those provided by their bosses.

Even better, the cost benefit of not having to provide workplace devices to employees can be quite inviting to most businesses. Sadly, one in every five businesses lacks enough visibility into the aspects of the business they are using their mobile devices to access, according to Global News Wire, which breeds a cyber-security threat. Other than increasing the chances of insider threat, this might also leave your organization vulnerable to malware.

Here is how to build a secure network to avoid these risks:

Audit Your Landscape Before Accepting BYOD

Network monitoring tools, log management tools, and firewalls, can all play a pivotal role in stopping any cyber threat from leading to the downfall of your organization. Sadly, lacking such investments or having some that need patches will only leave you exposed to security threats. On the other hand, the threat spectrum widens if you embrace BYOD without necessarily solving the problems with your current security infrastructure.

Before considering BYOD policies, ensure that you have solved these specific security loopholes. You can work with security professionals such as pen testers to help identify any issues that need to be fixed.

Invest In Mobile Device Management Systems

BYOD might leave you in a catch-22 situation. While you might want to have enough visibility into what your employee is doing with corporate data, you do not want to deal with a lawsuit from accessing private employee data. Luckily, mobile device management technology helps diffuse this dilemma.

It allows you to not only differentiate company data from the employee’s personal data, but it also improves the level of visibility you have towards your corporate data. Additionally, it can be pivotal in deleting corporate data once employees go rogue, lose their phones or simply leave your company. From the employee’s perspective, this also helps limit sharing corporate data accidentally.

Embrace Role-Based Access Control

Role-Based Access Control Using a Graph Database

Access to corporate data should be on a need to know basis. An employee shouldn’t have access to the same data as an executive member of the board. Furthermore, certain aspects of data access such as file sharing might not be ideal for the BYOD world, as this can easily lead to insider data theft.

Invest in the right tools to embrace role-based access control. On the flip side, you can also manage access control based on the profile of the requester. If the person seems to be on a personal device, then certain aspects like risky-file sharing ought to be disabled for them.

Embrace Two-Factor Authentication

While passwords might fall into the wrong hands, personal devices can easily get stolen or lost. If hackers gain access to them, the chances are that your business’s data will be compromised. As such, embrace two-factor verification to ensure that employees need two keys (password and a device) to gain access into your network.

In most cases, two-factor verification combines both a device or message and a password to grant access to the requester. Ideally, having all employees use this can limit the chances of a data breach from having a device lost or the misplacement of a password. However, you should still train employees on key password management procedures to avoid any consequences.

Conclusion

BYOD offers too many benefits to be ignored, but the risks aren’t inviting at all. Luckily, the success rate of your BYOD policy trickles down to the network security strategy you choose. Consider the tips above to enjoy BYOD without the risks.

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